myelin

A new research project, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), aims to better understand how different types of cells in the nervous system — specifically neurons and glia cells — communicate with each other and ultimately affect both motor and non-motor functions. Its findings may have important implications…

Chong Kun Dang (CKD) Pharmaceutical’s experimental oral therapy CKD-506 suppressed inflammation, myelin loss (demyelination), and lessened symptoms in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reported. Notably, the therapy resulted in benefits generally comparable to those of Gilenya (fingolimod) in these mice. But it also…

A signaling protein called fractalkine helps to regulate the development of oligodendrocytes, cells of the nervous system responsible for making myelin — the protecting coating of nerve cell fibers that is damaged and lost in multiple sclerosis (MS). This finding was in the study, “Fractalkine signaling regulates…

Treatment with anti-CD20 antibodies reduced the loss of myelin and improved the survival of neurons in a rat model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports. The findings imply that B-cells — the immune cells that are killed by anti-CD20 antibodies — play a central role in the…

A component of yeast cell walls — called MGCP — prevented disease in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) by activating anti-inflammatory immune T-cells while suppressing inflammatory T-cells, a study showed. This work also supporting the microbiome’s role in affecting inflammation in autoimmune diseases like MS. “We have…

Researchers have identified a molecular switch that awakens stem cells in a specific region of the mouse brain — and with their activation, two new types of glia, non-neuronal cells that play critical roles in brain function, also were discovered. Notably, the development of these new glial cell types also…

Vesicles containing the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin can be used to destroy the aberrant, myelin-damaging immune cells that contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS), suppressing the progression of the neurodegenerative disorder, according to recent research findings using a mouse model. If further validated, this technique could provide physicians with a new…

Scientists Discover Enzyme Needed for Activating Myelin Repair Here’s encouraging news for those interested in remyelination — and who isn’t interested in repairing our frayed MS nerves? Yes, it’s only a mouse study, but maybe it’s the starting point for finding a way to use a particular enzyme to…

T-cells in the fluid around the brain share a large percentage of receptors among different multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a new report suggests. Better understanding the diversity of T-cell receptors in MS, and how these cells vary in different parts of the body, could be useful in understanding the…

The enzyme TET1, which is progressively lost with age, is essential to activate genes needed to repair myelin — the sheath around nerve cells that is damaged in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — a study in mice has found. The…

LIF, a protein with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, can be successfully delivered to immune cells in the brain using a nanoparticle formulation, and partially reverses induced paralysis in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a proof-of-concept study has found. These findings validate LIF-loaded nanoparticles as…

Fatigue Prevalence Remains High in MS Patients Is this a surprise to anyone who has lived with MS for any period of time? Over the many years since my diagnosis, fatigue has been my second most bothersome symptom. (Trouble walking is the first.) In this survey, researchers write that…

Therini Bio announced raising $17 million in a financing round to speed the development of an antibody that might treat people with inflammatory conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), associated with damage to blood vessels. These funds will also support work aiming to move this antibody, targeting the protein…

A new 3D model of the human nervous system is meant to mimic key processes in the development of the myelin sheath — the fatty coating around nerve cells that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS) — to help with research into treatments that promote myelination. This model might also…

The 2021 John Dystel Prize for multiple sclerosis (MS) research has been awarded to Vijay Kuchroo, PhD, a professor at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, for his work in uncovering the underlying immune mechanisms that drive the neurodegenerative disorder.  “Professor Kuchroo’s…

A gene called Mertk has important roles in the repair of myelin, the fatty substance that surrounds and protects neurons and that is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings were published in Cell Press, in the study “Multiple sclerosis risk gene Mertk is required for…

Prolonging a cellular defense mechanism shown to restore myelin — the protective sheath around nerve cell fibers that is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS) — may be key to treating the neurodegenerative disease, a study in MS mouse models suggests. That defense mechanism, called integrated stress response (ISR), helps…

A Phase 1 clinical trial investigating ANK-700 as a means to restore immune tolerance to myelin in people multiple sclerosis (MS) has begun dosing participants. Currently recruiting at a single site in Tennessee, the trial (NCT04602390) is expected to enroll up to 40 patients with relapsing-remitting…

Mavenclad (cladribine) reduces the number and volume of lesions in patients at risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) after a first clinical demyelinating event, a study based on Phase 3 trial data found. A demyelinating event occurs when myelin — the protective coating around nerve fibers — experiences damage; this…

A decline in the activity of the GPR17 gene is responsible for age-related brain deterioration caused by the loss of myelin, a fatty substance that surrounds nerve cells like a sheath, a mouse study discovered. Researchers identified a small molecule that rejuvenated…

Lipid (fat) molecules can function as chemical couriers, taking messages from tissue to tissue, organ to organ as part of the body’s immune defense guidance system. But in certain diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), the courier service may go awry. One such lipid molecule, called sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P),…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25-27. Go here to see all the latest stories from the conference. Factors in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounding the brain and spinal cord change with age and can affect…

Sustained, excessive levels of interleukin 17A (IL-17A) — a pro-inflammatory molecule linked to multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases — reduce the number and activity of the brain’s immune cells in the dentate gyrus, according to a study in mice. The dentate gyrus is part of the hippocampus, a…

Pipeline Therapeutics announced that it has raised $80 million in investor financing to develop neuroregenerative therapies for neurological disorders, including those like multiple sclerosis (MS) that are marked by the loss of myelin. The money will support the research and development of several candidate therapies, with three aimed at promoting and…

FDA Approves Plegridy as Intramuscular Injection for Relapsing MS A common patient complaint about Plegridy has been that its subcutaneous injection procedure results in injection site reactions. This new formulation is delivered into the muscle, rather than under the skin. The needle is longer, but Biogen pharmaceuticals thinks the…

Teams of scientists at the University of Toronto are sharing a nearly CA$21 million (about $16.36 million) award into research that might lead to self-repair treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological disorders, the university announced in a press release. Eleven teams at the university and its…

Multiple sclerosis (MS)-associated inflammation in the cerebral cortex — the outermost layer of the brain that is involved in cognitive function — prompts the destruction of neural connections by specific immune cells, according to a study in a mouse model of MS. These immune cells targeted dendritic spines (nerve…

Clene Awaits US Patent Covering Gold Nanocrystals’ Use in Treating MS This is a different approach to MS treatment. It uses very tiny crystals to produce a chemical reaction. It is hoped that this reaction will protect neurons and help to generate myelin. So far, there have only been…

A new primate model uncovered by researchers can help scientists understand the immune and inflammatory processes underlying the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) in humans, a study reports. It was already known that Japanese macaques — also called snow monkeys — can spontaneously develop encephalomyelitis (JME), a disorder that…

A thyroid hormone-mimicking compound not only prevented nerve cell damage but promoted the cells’ survival in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). This discovery advances previous research showing that the compound, called sobetirome, can induce the repair of myelin, the protective sheath around nerves. The data suggest…